Saints start season 0-2 after loss to rival Bucs

Sep. 16, 2007

Tampa Bay rookie defensive end Greg White (91) sacks New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees for a nine-yard loss during the Buccaneers’ 31-14 win over the Saints Sunday. Brees had a rough day, completing 26 of 44 passes for 260 yards and just one touchdown. Brees was also sacked twice.

Written by

David Dorsey

Gannett News Service

New Orleans running back Reggie Bush (25) losses the ball as he is hit by Tampa Bay’s Ryan Nece (56) during the Buccaneers’ 31-14 win over the Saints on Sunday.

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TAMPA, Fla. -- If embattled Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden could be credited with one thing Sunday following his team's dominating 31-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints, he made it clear.

"If I get any credit, I hope I get credit for resting Joey Galloway in Wednesday's practice," said Gruden, who has made a habit of resting the 35-year-old wide receiver over the past couple of seasons in order to preserve him for game day.

That tactic -- among others -- paid off in front of a home opener crowd of 65,178 fans at Raymond James Stadium.

Scoring touchdowns instead of field goals, creating turnovers and scoring off them, stopping the run and maintaining momentum all played roles in the Buccaneers winning this NFC South Division matchup.

Galloway caught four passes for 135 yards and two first-half touchdowns on catches of 69 and 24 yards as the Buccaneers evened their record at 1-1. The slumping Saints are 0-2.

First-year Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia, a nine-year veteran, set a franchise record for yards-per-pass attempt in a game, averaging 15.2 yards per throw. He completed 10-of-16 passes for 243 yards and the two scoring strikes to Galloway.

"You don't want to say 'must win' this early in the season, but we really needed this win," said Tampa Bay linebacker Barrett Ruud, whose fumble recovery following an instant replay reversal seven minutes into the game led to Tampa Bay's first touchdown drive of the season. Cadillac Williams scored his first of two touchdowns -- he already doubled last season's total of just one -- on a 1-yard run in capping an eight-play, 57-yard drive with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Williams scored again on a 1-yard run with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter for a 28-0 lead.

"I had one last year, the second game of the season," Williams said. "So it has been a long time since me and my buddy the end zone have communicated."

Williams, who did not practice for most of the week because of the bruised ribs he suffered last Sunday against Seattle, started.

"I was so worried about it," Williams said. "I didn't go to bed until 3:30 or 4 in the morning. I didn't know how I was going to react to a hit.

"Truth be told, I was still real sore. I had a problem breathing here and there. I felt I could give it a try and take it play by play."

Tampa Bay's defense made play after play, starting with Ruud's fumble recovery and then continuing with back-to-back, first-quarter pass breakups by cornerback Phillip Buchanon, who started in place of the injured Brian Kelly.

"I'm my own worst critic," said Buchanon, who also had one tackle. "I know what I need to do to get better. But I'm just happy that we won. That was the main goal. But in order to be the best, there are things that I need to work on personally."

Defensive linemen Jovan Haye and Greg White each compiled their first NFL sacks, and former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Cato June intercepted his first pass as a Buccaneer.

"I'm speechless," Haye said when asked about his sack of Saints quarterback Drew Brees in the third quarter. "I don't know what to say. It feels good to come back from Seattle and get a win in our home opener."

Has the Tampa Bay Buccaneer defense returned to form?

"I don't want to speak too soon," Haye said. "But we're headed there. We're not going to make any bold predictions. But we played well on offense, defense and special teams. So we'll take what we got."

The Buccaneers got a huge day from Galloway, who flexed his right biceps upon reaching the end zone both times. But he directed attention to his team's defense, which held the Saints to just 99 rushing yards for the game and zero points until fullback Mike Karney scored on a 1-yard run with 49 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

By then, the Buccaneers held a commanding 28-7 lead with one quarter to go.

"Any time our defense goes out and plays the way they did today, anytime we get the ball back on the 40- or 50-yard line, it makes it a lot easier and makes it a lot more fun to play offense when it happens," Galloway said. "Really, with the game the defense played, if they're going to play that kind of defense -- if that's the way it's going to be -- then we can win a lot of games here."

The Buccaneers look to put last season's 4-12 record in the rearview mirror.

"This is a whole new team," Gruden said. "We have seven new starters on offense. I don't know how many new guys we have."

Gruden, however, knows well that one of the new guys, Garcia, played a key part in moving the offense.

Of Garcia's 10 completions, three were for 30 yards or more.

"We were able to create distance from the other team by putting points on the board and not settling for field goals in the red zone," Garcia said.

The Buccaneers moved within the 20-yard line three times. Only once did they have to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. The other two Tampa Bay touchdowns were from beyond 20 yards.

"It was a big step," Garcia said. "Having the big-play ability and Joey out on the field, Joey made some tremendous plays and created some opportunities when momentum was in our direction."